The present disclosure relates generally to furnaces systems, and more specifically, to drains for air intake pipes included in furnace systems.
A wide range of applications exists for furnace systems, including residential, commercial, and industrial applications. For example, a residential furnace system may include a combustion chamber and heat exchanger to produce hot air to heat an enclosed space such as a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom, or some other residential room. Generally, furnace systems operate by combusting a mixture of air and fuel from a fuel source in a combustion chamber to produce combustion products. The combustion products may pass through coils or piping in a heat exchanger. Air may pass through the heat exchanger and blow over the coils or piping, such that the air extracts heat from the combustion products passing through the coils or piping. The hot air is exported from the heat exchanger into an area (e.g., a room) for heating. The combustion products may exit the heat exchanger through an exhaust stack, where the combustion products are released into an open space (e.g., atmosphere).
Furnace systems may include electronics and electronic wiring for various purposes (e.g., an electronic igniter and associated electronic wiring for igniting fuel in the combustion chamber). Additionally, portions of the furnace system may be cooled by an external environment or an adjacent air conditioning unit, such that condensation may be formed on components of the furnace system. It is now recognized that such condensation may impact system operation. For example, the condensation may accumulate and flow such that it comes into contact with system electronics. Accordingly, it is now recognized that there is a need for protecting system features (e.g., electronics) from damage associated with condensation on certain system features.